Half Past the Witching Hour (Paranormal Personnel Saga #3) (24 page)

No, of course not, but at the moment I don’t have any other choice.

Jasper wanted to use a trial spell, to see if my magic would react to it. He came closer, lifting his magic wand and waving it in front of my face. He was focused, his eyes sharp and wide on mine.

‘Let me ask you something,’ I said, not able to help myself with questions. ‘Why do you do this? Why do you want my darkness so much?’

He frowned, taking a deep breath.

‘Julia, you’re distracting yourself. Stop asking questions and tell me, do you feel any different?’

I laughed, but his frown deepened. When I thought about his question I was surprised, because I did feel slightly better. The pressure above my eyes stopped and my body wasn’t responding anymore to the strong current of magic that had been floating in this room.

‘Yeah, kind of. What kind of spell did you use?’ I asked, curious. He then relaxed and dropped his magic wand, losing that mad gleam in his eyes that had been there just a moment ago.

‘It’s a refreshing spell. I wanted to see how your manic power would react. The next step is much more complicated and even more dangerous. Are you sure that you’re ready for this?’

No, of course not, but at the moment I don’t have any other choice.

‘Yes, I’m ready,’ I said, trying to sound confident, but my voice cracked. Jasper smiled and ran his hand over my cheek, as heat started blazing in his eyes. I shivered, but caught his hand before this whole situation got out of control.

‘Jasper …I—’

‘Julia, it’s all right. I know that you’re in love with the leech, and I want to prove to you that I’m worth having around you again. We are a good team.’

I was past the time when Jasper scared me; now my own magic mattered more. My ex-boyfriend was making an effort and I had to agree to his terms.

‘Maybe we are, but let’s forget about the past. If you don’t hurry up, soon I might have no freedom to speak of.’

‘What are you talking about, Julia?’ he asked. I accidentally said too much.

‘Nothing, I’m just exaggerating as always.’

He wasn’t convinced but didn’t ask anymore questions, for which I was glad. Jasper wanted to keep me happy so he was brushing the facts away, for now. He packed a few flasks and books into his bag and shortly after that we vanished from the obscure house.

When we were back in his car, I had this odd nagging feeling that I forgot about someone or something. Ella was safe, Mum was at work, and Kate had no idea that I asked my crazy ex for help. Tron would get mad if I didn’t show for training and I wouldn’t be surprised if he was waiting for me outside my apartment. None of this mattered now, because that feeling didn’t go away when Jasper drove through the dark streets of London.

After some time the flames on my hands were back again and the tingling only got worse. Jasper noticed, but he was silent, his eyes never leaving the road. It wasn’t long before he started breaking the speed limit, and whenever I asked him why he was rushing, he refused to respond. I had no idea where he was taking me; his ideas about magic thieves seemed absurd, but he was the one that studied black spells, and more or less knew what he was doing.

Soon we were driving through darkness; the street lamps were off and I quickly realised that we were in a restricted area, that rough part of London. Almost two years ago I came here with Nathaniel searching for answers about Claudia, but that memory seemed distant, like it never happened. My stomach churned loudly and from out of nowhere a new lethal fear was injected into me like a live virus. Outside the streets were empty, but I spotted individuals, paranormals by the buildings, crossing the street at the least expected moment. No paranormal in the right frame of mind would cross here. Maybe if they weren’t scared of death, because everyone knew that death was waiting, watching from every corner for these weak, brave souls.

Jasper parked the car in one of the darkest alleys. He didn’t seem scared, but he told me to keep close to him when we got out. As soon as I stepped out of the car I felt a cold chill running down my spine. The air was thick, dense, like oxygen wasn’t reaching part of the alley. Wind started blowing from the south, ruffling my hair, and the shivering only got worse. Someone was watching us. I could feel more than one pair of eyes on us, but I couldn’t spot anyone in the darkness.

‘Just stay quiet and follow me. Try to avoid bringing attention to yourself,’ he stated as we walked, moving through narrow streets surrounded by unoccupied and abandoned buildings. Only a week or so ago I was somewhere in this district, chased by the police, then by a giant who wanted to rape me. I pushed those thoughts away, concentrating on the task ahead. Jasper didn’t say much, and I wished that I had asked more questions when we arrived at his lab.

‘Should I be worried?’ I whispered, hearing low hissing noises nearby, forgetting that I wasn’t supposed to talk.

‘No. Magic thieves are aware that we are here. They are getting excited because your magic is so transparent.’

He didn’t make me feel any better, but I carried on walking, glancing everywhere, hoping to spot the outcasts. I’d heard stories from people that had seen them, but until now I never thought about how those forgotten creatures lived. The street narrowed even further as soon as we took a sharp left. We took a few more steps before we saw a shadow at the end of the street. In the dying darkness I couldn’t see if it was a man or a woman.

Jasper’s magic wand was in his hand. He nodded to me to continue walking. As we got closer, an old street lamp was switched on, and then I could see the person more clearly. It was a woman, dirty, dressed in a low-cut grey top and very tight shorts. She was skinny, underweight, with long dirty blond hair and high boots. Her eyes were too large for her face and a bitter sensation settled in my stomach when I hovered over the marks on her body. In any other circumstance I’d call her a whore with an addiction problem. But I knew that she was not really these things; she was simply a magic thief.

‘Hello, stranger. I need a full flask of your power in exchange for pure, virgin blood or raw sex,’ she said simply, going straight to business approaching Jasper, swaying her hips in a gracious manner. Obviously she was selling her body, but I still didn’t consider her a whore. She was just fighting for her survival.

She approached Jasper, leaned over to his body and ran her hand over his chest, licking her lips. He grabbed her hand and pushed her away.

‘Stay away and you might get something later,’ he hissed. She laughed and brought her hands to her nose, smelling them quickly and laughing hysterically. I couldn’t stop staring. I never imagined them looking so human. Jasper grabbed my hand, pulling me closer to him. He stopped in a front of the last building and walked through a half broken door, dragging me after him.

He used the light from his magic wand to point his way through a narrow corridor. I had to cover my nose, because the smell inside was unbearable. It was like death, and only death covering the entire space, using raw, burnt human flesh as an air refresher. I swallowed, trying not to be sick, but I didn’t know how much longer we needed to walk.

By the walls, in the cold, dark rooms I spotted people, shadows. Some of them were thin like skeletons, with torn clothes, hollow cheeks; others were on the floor, rocking back and forth. I’d never imagined that paranormal society had done that to them. I couldn’t comprehend how no one ever did anything to help them. People who were insane were kept in hospitalised institutions. These were born starving for magic, it wasn’t their fault, and deep down I cried for them.

Then we heard the scream, and I jumped in place, grabbing Jasper’s hand. He stopped and turned his magic wand to the opposite wall pointing at the woman.

She was a magic thief, older, covered with an oversized, used cardigan and long dark trousers. Some of them had tattoos, marks of years that they lived. Small black lines were covering her entire face. Jasper approached as she curled away from us, pushing her hands to her ears. She was giggling to herself, talking in a language that I didn’t understand, if there was such a language. Terror passed through my body, straining every inch of my skin. Was I ready to use this ill creature to get rid of my own darkness? Could I be part of society that treated those people so savagely?

Jasper wouldn’t understand. He wanted to help me but until now I didn’t get the cost. Magic thieves didn’t deserve to be used; they were only fighting for survival.

‘Hey, come here, we need your help,’ said Jasper, moving towards the woman. ‘We have magic, lot’s of it. I bet you’re hungry.’

The woman screamed while Jasper reversed and then out of nowhere I heard a clicking sound. The smell of a stale body, much stronger than earlier, hit me hard, mixed with wood polish—I sensed a troll nearby.

‘Julia, run! It’s a trap, I should have known…’

Jasper’s screams faded as blue and red beams of light started shooting through the air towards him. Someone was hurling spells at us. I stood frozen, the terror slowly suffocating me. A large hand gripped my jaw, and I was unable to make a sound. I heard a voice, movements, heavy steps hurrying around me. Then someone pushed me down to the ground. My head hit the floor and I saw stars. More lightning spells were flying around me.

Jasper wasn’t someone who accepted failure. He fought, screaming with rage, moving his wand too quickly for me to realise what he was doing. For some reason his spells were useless, pushing him down on his knees. It seemed as if the charms bombarding us were appearing out of nowhere, and in the bright light I saw the people that surrounded him. A sudden rush of energy roared through my ears. My head felt like it was splitting into pieces. A voice pounded through me.

I thought of my training and struggled to gain control of my magic, but my body wasn’t complying with anything I tried to do. Waves of electricity and light came alive, dashing towards Jasper, hurting him. I screamed inside, although I couldn’t move, couldn’t do anything to stop this madness. In the past I’d wanted him down, wished to see him down, surrendered, but now I was petrified.

A loud laugh broke through the silence. People were closing in on me, talking, whispering, but there was no ease, no thoughts, just pain. A clicking noise came back and my magic stopped, easing off the suffering. I was back to my normal self, but my heart beat fast, racing away, and the voice close to my ear came out of nowhere.

‘We were waiting for you to show up. I had no idea that you would be so stupid as to actually come here,’ said the creepy, deep voice. I tried to lift myself off the ground, but I only heard my own wheezing breaths.

Slowly, one by one, paranormals approached me. There were four of them, three of them were wizards. They all kept their magic wands by their faces so I could see them clearly. I wanted to scream, but no sound left my mouth. I felt myself shaking with terror and the realisation that I recognised all these faces. The Paranormal Unit had been hunting them for months. Each one of them was accused of murders, crimes that were more violent than anything I ever heard of.

Then I turned my head to the man that wasn’t a wizard, the one that was near my face. His yellow eyes shined in the dim light, and a grin spread over his wide face. And in that moment, everything finally made sense—my blackouts, the power, and the murders. The whole lot forming in my head. I recognised the smell, the voice, and constructed events in my mind. These memories pounded me down to the blackness, making me close my eyes and sleep—just asI recognised Craig, Kelsie’s ex-boyfriend, in front of me.

***

The darkness was almost transparent, alluring. I was in my dream; an unknown voice took control of me. My mind was foggy. I was on my feet again walking through these corridors, hearing magic thieves moving around me.

We left Jasper behind, his body was still there, wounded, left for them to feed on his energy. A long hollow face came out from the shadows watching me, studying my power. The face smiled and then hissed back to the darkness.

‘Get rid of them. I don’t want any witnesses,’ the voice ordered, and the paranormals that were around me obeyed, disappearing in the gloom. They went after those dark, scared creatures. I didn’t know what happened after that. Someone pushed me outside, blindfolding me. I heard screams then but didn’t want to listen, pushing my hands over my ears, but the voice only laughed. Then more darkness and despair.

I was suspended in a place away from reality, where all my nightmares were becoming real, where all the suffering came crushing down on me.

When it all stopped, I heard my name being called. My eyes flickered open. I took a long raspy breath. My whole body ached, and my muscles were stiff, like I’d been in that uncomfortable position for a while. I pushed myself up from the floor and peered around. My clothes stuck to my body, but as soon as my vision was clear I thought that I hadn’t woken up yet. Colour drained from my face and every bit of fear was back.

‘Well, you’re awake. Glad you could finally join us,’ snarled the voice, turning my insides out.

I shifted my position around and let out an uncontrollable gasp when I saw Craig. Kelsie’s ex-boyfriend, who sat on my parents’ sofa in their living room. I swallowed hard, trying to count to ten in my head, but he didn’t disappear. I took in a breath, shocked and paralysed with terror. It took me a long moment to gain some strength to speak.

‘What the hell are you doing here? Where is Jasper?’ I asked, shivering with cold. It seemed as if my energy didn’t respond to me. My fingertips were charged, but my spells weren’t working. I felt that metallic taste in my mouth, like the first time after I blacked out. I hated that memory.

Craig looked calm and in good spirits, holding a knife in his hands. I tried to understand how I got here. My hands were clear, there was no blood. Maybe I was lucky and I hadn’t hurt anyone this time. I anxiously looked around, searching for Mum. It was already dark outside and the clock on the wall told me it was nine o’clock in the evening. Craig took a cigarette and put it in his mouth and lit it.